Woj: Gafford & Hutchison to Washington for Troy Brown & Mo Wagner

[dougthonus]

I mean, you can't help but be happy for Hutchison. If he busts out, then we need to find out why he was unable to do that here. If the Bulls believed in him enough to give him a promise on draft night, then they also need to put in the right infrastructure to develop talent. If that's an institutional failure, then we need to know that.

Normally I would say this is correct, but we basically changed everything about the institution that attempted to develop Hutch anyway. New coaches, trainers, front office ,etc... There isn't a lot of value in figuring out what went wrong with people whom are no longer here.

This year, Hutch started the season with COVID and was out for quite awhile because of it. There wasn't much time to work with the new staff or do anything else to earn his role. I'm not sure there is nothing to really dig into in the short time he was with the new staff due to circumstances.

One other thing I'd add is that sometimes it just takes a guy a couple destinations and changes in life to take things as seriously as they need to. Also, the most likely scenario is that despite a good game, Hutch actually just isn't very good and this is just a flash in the pan.

At any rate, we should perpetually evaluate our managerial effectiveness in things like player development, scouting, etc, the org should always be doing those things, so regardless of Hutch, we should know if we're failing people and why. Sometimes if we fail people it may be acceptable (ie, the circumstances required to maximize one person's success require a change in culture you feel hurts the whole).

[Michael Jackson]

Doug, I agree with the destination change for sure. Some people almost feel entitled straight out of college in any career and mature more as they get to later destinations because they have unrealistic expectations of the business. While Hutch needs a lot more to prove that he has turned a corner, but maybe he has. Also to your point, the Bulls have already addressed the infrastructure, but because the old one was so bad when he got here he simply needed a change of scenery. Sometimes you need more than just a new boss because your past ghosts are still lingering.

[drosestruts]

Regarding Hutch's big night - Westbrook is still a really good player and a very willing passer, and Westbrook setup and found Hutch multiple times last night. Hutch has never played with a guard like Westbrook before.

Wildy overpaid - yes. Best passing guard he's ever shared the court with? Also yes, and by a wide margin.

I think more than anything, Hutch's game was just a ripple effect of the all-time performance Westbrook put on last night. First player in NBA history to post a 35+ point, 20+ assist triple-double. First. Ever.

[VolumePoster]

Looks like his “personal issues” which he needed to “sleep on” were likely PAW starting. Whilst Hutch is probably better ATM. Don’t know how else to magically explain the evaporation of the “personal issues” on the first game after a trade followed by his snarky quote.

[ZOMG]

Looks like his “personal issues” which he needed to “sleep on” were likely PAW starting. Whilst Hutch is probably better ATM. Don’t know how else to magically explain the evaporation of the “personal issues” on the first game after a trade followed by his snarky quote.

If that is indeed the case, Hutch is absolutely 100% right.

Williams has been getting entitlement minutes all season and Hutchison is underrated. He was always a good wing defender (hell of a lot better that Pat, that's for sure) and deserved the chance to play in the Thad-centric offense where his cutting skills and athleticism would've been useful.

[Bandit King]

Hutch was a mental case and thought he was better then he was. A low draft pick he is lucky to drafted by the dumbest gm in the world garpax.

Bench player or china basketball player.

[FranchisePlayer]

Great 1st game for Daniel. 13 points in 14 minutes and 3 blocks. 6-7 shooting. I felt he'd do really well on a team with two playmakers like Beal & Russ and he could just be a rim runner and dunker.

That was one side of it and the other:

Watch on YouTube

[StunnerKO]

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[CaPiTanAK]

Read on Twitter

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Yup thorough trash.

[coldfish]

It’s easy to forget that TBJ is only 21.

Also Hutch is terrible. No feel for the game at all and a head case to boot.

This trade is going to look like grand larceny in a few weeks when you add in Theis.

[weneeda2guard]

I mean he never really finished the sentence....


Maybe it was "one man's trash, is another man's garbage" ?

[madvillian]

It’s easy to forget that TBJ is only 21.

Also Hutch is terrible. No feel for the game at all and a head case to boot.

This trade is going to look like grand larceny in a few weeks when you add in Theis.

I feel like TBJ is going to be an important 7th man going forward and Hutch will be out of the NBA in a couple years. Today you could see what the vision was with TBJ. If the Bulls really had him as a target and then got him for the garbage of Hutch and Gafford that is pretty good scouting imo.

[ChiCitySPORTS#1]

TBJ should get some run at PG. He was a five star PG coming out of high school, and I honestly don’t trust Arci very much, although he’s been serviceable. TBJ has higher upside and is bigger / more athletic.

[ZOMG]

TBJ should get some run at PG. He was a five star PG coming out of high school, and I honestly don’t trust Arci very much, although he’s been serviceable. TBJ has higher upside and is bigger / more athletic.

Brown brings some things, but sound decision-making is not one of them. I like his hustle and movement but he's aready had some truly head-scratching moments here.

He also seems to rival Denzel in the irrational confidence category.

[ChettheJet]

TBJ should get some run at PG. He was a five star PG coming out of high school, and I honestly don’t trust Arci very much, although he’s been serviceable. TBJ has higher upside and is bigger / more athletic.

Brown brings some things, but sound decision-making is not one of them. I like his hustle and movement but he's aready had some truly head-scratching moments here.

He also seems to rival Denzel in the irrational confidence category.

That unpredictability is why I want to see him at PG over Arci. The Bulls going back 20 years have so focused on solid citizen, fundamentally sound players that they have easily gotten bogged down when the plays produce shots that don't result in ponts that they have gone through stretches of 8 minutes without a basket or the 8-14 point quarters. That's why someone like Nate Robinson and Ben Gordon stood out, they were going to take shots and make their own offense when the rest of the lineup couldn't get their perfect shot.

You can't have 5 guys like that out there at the same time but Zach can't be out there all the time. Brown can bring that to the second unit. It's not about turning the game over to him but when he's out there with four guys dedicated to running the plays and those players aren't working and the clock is running down somebody like Brown just takes the best shot he can find rather than having the buzzer go off. He and Valentine both have to get the message that they can't just take the first open three they see but that's easier to get that through to a player than have steady guys like Arci, Temple, Theis, Satoransky, Williams and White decide to say F it I've got to take a shot here.

[MrSparkle]

I don't know how to explain it: Hutchison had "athleticism," but in this stiff robotic form, that I associated with most GarPax picks:

Thabo, Gordon, Deng, Snell, Taj, Wendell, Gafford
... Lauri & Doug (with even less hops, but apparently "great metrics")...
Maybe Coby, haven't figured him out yet (can't decide if he's particularly athletically, length or skill-challenged)..
Of course Valentine...

They had/have the hops to pull a monster dunk occassionally, or out-sprint somebody, but there's no quick shift, change-in-direction, stop-start in their movement. Even Gafford, a phenomenally gifted spring-board, he seems more like a straight up-down athlete.

I don't know if it's more about skill or coordination, or it was just a limit in athleticism, but I felt like I'm watching wooden dummies on stilts operate, compared to "smooth" athletes like MPJ, Jamal Crawford, or even guys like Nwaba, Nate and even Justin freaking Holiday (the guys they "stumbled" upon in the bargain bin).

Just seems like we did the right thing sending Hutchison, Gafford and Wendell out, not even considering the good returns (ha - and not to mention Kornet). They scream "GarPax" to me. I'd rather re-invest those salaries into Justin Holiday and the aging corpse of Thad , if I had to be honest. Who granted, were GarPax pickups at one point, but for the wrong reasons (as in, I think they expected Thad to play less and teach Wendell and Lauri more about life, and Justin was obviously a stop-gap).

Just to cap this point... I think back to that early pre-season game against Houston's scrub army. Their G-League, undrafted pickups and post-15 surgery Wall/Cousins tandem looked about 100x more athletic than our collection of young lotto picks.

[madvillian]

I don't know how to explain it: Hutchison had "athleticism," but in this stiff robotic form, that I associated with most GarPax picks:

Thabo, Gordon, Deng, Snell, Taj, Wendell, Gafford
... Lauri & Doug (with even less hops, but apparently "great metrics")...
Maybe Coby, haven't figured him out yet (can't decide if he's particularly athletically, length or skill-challenged)..
Of course Valentine...

They had/have the hops to pull a monster dunk occassionally, or out-sprint somebody, but there's no quick shift, change-in-direction, stop-start in their movement. Even Gafford, a phenomenally gifted spring-board, he seems more like a straight up-down athlete.

I don't know if it's more about skill or coordination, or it was just a limit in athleticism, but I felt like I'm watching wooden dummies on stilts operate, compared to "smooth" athletes like MPJ, Jamal Crawford, or even guys like Nwaba, Nate and even Justin freaking Holiday (the guys they "stumbled" upon in the bargain bin).

Just seems like we did the right thing sending Hutchison, Gafford and Wendell out, not even considering the good returns (ha - and not to mention Kornet). They scream "GarPax" to me. I'd rather re-invest those salaries into Justin Holiday and the aging corpse of Thad , if I had to be honest. Who granted, were GarPax pickups at one point, but for the wrong reasons (as in, I think they expected Thad to play less and teach Wendell and Lauri more about life, and Justin was obviously a stop-gap).

Just to cap this point... I think back to that early pre-season game against Houston's scrub army. Their G-League, undrafted pickups and post-15 surgery Wall/Cousins tandem looked about 100x more athletic than our collection of young lotto picks.

I think a lot of it was just laziness and bad scouting. Under Garpax they had one of the smallest scouting departments in the league and it appears they became overly reliant on pre draft workouts and testing. I really don't care if a guy has a 40" vertical on the test, what's his in game vert? What's his conversion rate around the rim in college or overseas? They just weren't watching enough guys closely. Personally and I've said this a million times I watched 5 minutes of Hutch highlights and wrote him off. He was finishing over 6-4 wings and 6-8 centers in the Mountain West. Once he wasn't just taller than everybody and longer he needed body control and athletic fluidity, something you really can't teach at the NBA level.

[Grodoboldo]

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/bulls-troy-brown-jr-settling-defensive-minded-role

I'm still in awe that we were able to get this dude for Hutchinson and Gafford, while still somehow landing Theis in the process.

[DJhitek]

The fact that the Bulls were able to turn Hutch and Gafford into anything is quite the accomplishment. Gafford had his moments but Hutch is not an NBA player. Underrated trade that is so good it should be talked about more IMO.

[GoBlue72391]

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Yup thorough trash.

He must have maturity issues to tweet something like that after one game. One of only a handful of good games he's had in his entire professional career, only to predictably follow it up with clunker after clunker.

I know a lot of players were trash on the Bulls and went on to become respectable players on other teams, but in this case I don't think the team is the problem, it's the player. Hutchison just isn't good. Just being lengthy and reasonably athletic isn't enough nowadays.